Introduction

It may at first seem a little odd that with DDR2 on the verge of a consolidated mainstream push, some manufacturers are still making a significant play for regular â€œoldâ€ DDR users, but perhaps on closer inspection itâ€™s not as odd as it seems. DDR2 is the future, of that thereâ€™s little doubt, but for the time being at least the DDR market remains a large and potentially lucrative one. Contrary to allegations that anyone releasing enthusiast memory today is simply mopping up the dregs of a dying technology, I personally believe DDRâ€™s course has not yet run and that it will be with us for quite some time yet, even if only as a budget solution for the more cost-conscious user.

You may remember the TrustedReviews recently put together a fairly substantial DDR memory roundup, which unearthed at least a few surprising results. Interestingly, and itâ€™s more by luck than by planning, the three companies taking part in todayâ€™s mini-roundup complement that initial group test rather nicely in that one of the manufacturers did incredibly well, one did incredibly badly, and one consistently finished mid-table but did so with some amazingly keen prices. With all three manufacturers submitting an enthusiast level product for test, Iâ€™m fascinated to see if the form book runs true or if there are yet more surprises in store.

Our combatants this time around are Crucial, GeIL and Buffalo, three companies known and respected for their solid, mainstream products but with only one having made any worthwhile inroads into the enthusiast sector up until now, that being GeIL.

With the enthusiast end of the memory market fairly crowded at the moment, letâ€™s see if any of these new products have what it takes to get noticed.